We Belong

By Les Cavalcades

Who belongs to Europe? The question is ancient, but the answer keeps changing. Join Yasmine Ouirhrane, appointed expert by the European Union and the African Union, in this series of conversations with young women representing the diversity of Europe. She will travel and meet women who are breaking stereotypes, navigating multiple identities, and challenging the conventional wisdom of what it means to belong. We Belong is a podcast produced by Les Cavalcades.

#02 In Italy with Bellamy - An Afroitalian Soul

For the #6 episode of We Belong, we take you to Belgium to meet the mind behind a million visitors website, Hanan Challouki! She is the managing partner of the creative agency Allyens and the original founder of the online platform Mvslim.com. Focused on inclusive communication, she spends her time developing strategies and campaigns for companies like Brussels Airport, BNP Paribas and Unilever. She's also listed as one of the Forbes 30 under 30 for her innovative thinking. In conversation with Hanan, we recalled her childhood in Anvers and the whole journey of Mvslim.com, that started from a student idea and became so big that she decided to sell it a month ago in order to focus on her next steps!
Key of the day: Plural Plus Video Festival by UNAOC Deadline June 19

For the #5 episode of We Belong, we take you to the UK to meet Gena-mour Barrett, a journalist and Editorial Creative Manager at Netflix UK, where she curates the Netflix IX interview series. As a freelancer, she has bylines at Elle, The Guardian, Refinery 29 and BBC Newsbeat. She was listed as one of 2019’s 30 Under 30 for Media and Marketing in Europe by Forbes and she was a recipient of the 2018 Roxane Gay fellowship for a woman of colour writing fiction with Jack Jones Literary Arts.
In conversation with Gena-mour, we dived into her personal story, her childhood in South London, the lessons learnt and her passion for writing. We also discussed humour and satire on Media, representation and diversity on the entertainment industry and, of course, Europe and her views on Brexit!
Key: Netflix series “Dear White People”

For the #4 episode of We Belong, we are back to France to meet Linh Lan Dao, a French TV Journalist for Franceinfo télévision. She works at the fact-checking TV program “Vrai ou Fake” and she uses arts to explain the news on the Youtube channel “Draw my news”. Following the broadcast of a TV show by two French humorists Kev Adams and Gad Elmaleh, she denounced prejudice and racism targeting Asians in a video that made 2.5 million views. She is committed against anti-Asian racism and she has been particularly vocal since the outbreak of the Coronavirus, shading the light on anti-Asian discriminations, verifying news and tweeting with the hashtag #Imnotavirus. We discussed about her passion for journalism and drawing, the importance to giving a voice to Asian communities living in France and representation on Media.
Keys: Harvard free online courses (https://online-learning.harvard.edu/catalog/free), British Council Free Online Courses (https://www.futurelearn.com/courses) and the Atlas Corps Fellowship Deadline May 1st (https://atlascorps.org/apply-united-states/).

For the #03 episode of We Belong, we take you to Spain to meet Míriam Hatibi, an activist against racism and islamophobia and the author of “Look Me in the Eye” and “Leila”. Miriam also contributes to the opinion sections of different publications, where she promotes a visible media presence for people of diverse origins, particularly women. Following the August 2017 terrorist attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, Míriam vehemently condemned terrorism at a demonstration in Plaça de Catalunya that brought together hundreds of Muslims. Since December 2014, she has been the spokesperson for the Ibn Battuta Foundation (FIB), an entity created to promote socio-cultural exchange. In conversation with Miriam, we recalled her reaction to the terrorist attacks and how she works to deconstruct islamophobia and stereotypes surrounding muslim people. We also spoke about her ambition to create new spaces for immigrant daughters to shine in society.
Keys: Code Academy (code academy.dev), One Young World Scholarships (https://www.oneyoungworld.com/scholarships).

For the #2 episode of We Belong, we recorded a special interview on remote where we take you to Milan, in Italy, the most affected country by the coronavirus. We discussed with Bellamy, a model, a blogger and an activist. Her word: Multifaceted.
Bellamy was born and raised in Italy in a half Ugandan and half Sudanese family. Her interests range from fashion and skin care to international politics. She becomes increasingly passionate about socio-cultural issues with a focus on the experience of the black body in different countries and while doing some research on this matter she feels called to take action in her own country.
With her friend Grazia, she created Afroitalian Souls: a web magazine that is now a digital platform that promotes the excellence of the African diaspora in Italy while simultaneously bringing awareness to the endless social and racial issue they face.
In conversation with Bellamy, we discussed the impact of Covid-19 in Italy, the structural and cultural forms of violence that black Italians face and how she uses sarcasm and style to amplify the voice of Afroitalians on social media.
Find her on Youtube, Instagram and Twitter @AfroitalianSoul, @Darkchocolatecreature, @BellamyAwot
Keys: Yoga sessions with @bodymind_focus , Netflix series: Self Made , Learning platform: MOOC.org

For the #1 episode of We Belong Podcast we traveled to France to meet Ines Seddiki, founder of Ghett’up.
She is a French-Moroccan young activist and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) professional living in the banlieues of Paris. In the 80s, her parents immigrated to France to pursue ideals of liberty and equality. From a very young age, Inés faced injustice and this motivated her to take action.
Since 2016, her NGO Ghett’up has impacted more than 2000 young people in the banlieues of Paris.
In the conversation with Ines, we discussed the importance of owning our story and identities, reflected on what it means to grow up in a banlieue and how to turn stigma into strength.